Waterbury Delegation Welcomes $10 Million for Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment

September 28, 2022

The Waterbury delegation in the Connecticut General Assembly welcomed the Community Investment Fund 2030 board’s approval of $10 million toward the city's Freight Street Corridor Redevelopment Project.

The Community Investment Fund 2030 is a five-year grant program, enacted in the 2021 legislative session, dedicated to fostering economic development in communities that have been historically underserved such as Waterbury. Eligible projects under the program include brownfield remediation, small business support programs, and infrastructure.

This funding supports long-term economic development in Waterbury, including hundreds of jobs, and jump starts the revitalization of the Freight Street Corridor. Twenty acres in the Waterbury’s West End will be open to redevelopment after years of blight and neglect, which will extend downtown and complement the recent state, local, and federal investment in the heart of the city.

The approved $10 million would be used for activities to revitalize three city owned properties along the Freight Street Corridor:

  1. Remediation: 130 Freight Street, 000 West Main Street, and 170 Freight Street
  2. Demolition: 170 Freight Street

The implementation of this project has the potential to enhance local and regional transportation infrastructure like the numerous improvements made to the nearby Waterbury Branch Line, the rail line’s downtown station and Waterbury’s downtown overall through state, local, and federal investment.

These upgrades and development include but are not limited to an expanded train station parking lot, enhanced lighting at the train station, installation of signalization on the Waterbury Branch Line, the reconstruction of Freight Street as a complete street, and a bicycle side path connecting the Naugatuck River to the downtown.